My biggest problem with this whole project is it is referred to as a "bypass." It will NOT be used as a bypass overall per se.

Here are the facts: The amount of traffic on US 31, wanting to go between south of Holland and north of Muskegon is only 10% and only a very tiny fraction of that would want to travel 20+ miles out of there way to avoid Grand Haven.

This is basically an alternative for the locals. No need to always depend on the GH bridge to get over the river.

Somehow I have a feeling this won't work. One year they offered free bus rides to the fireworks. So I parked in Ferrysburg, boarded and was down to the fireworks just in time. It was great! On the return trip, we waited in traffic one hour, moved 5 blocks and got out and walked across the bridge to our car.

Eventually there will be a big emergency during this CGF, and the town will be gridlocked to emergency personnel.

Not to defend anyone here, but what surprises me is the number of people who walk down the street so willy-nilly. At night they don't wear reflective clothing, they walk close to the pavement not paying attention to who might be coming up behind them.

When walking on a road, residential or busy highway, ALWAYS assume the driver coming from behind or in front of you DOESN"T see you. After dark this is even doubly important. And wearing those headphones so you can't hear anything is the definition of insanity.

I have a feeling this woman would have hit this guy, even if she weren't drunk.

I'm divided on this issue. I think we could use another bridge, but at the same time, the current infrastructure of our state roads is really in bad shape. But if you look back, some uneducated decisions were made. A lot of projects that were done were not necessary, except to keep some workers with a steady paycheck.

Radio in Muskegon has gotten so bad. We used to have a good variety of talented announcers and music. Today it is so bland. Star 108 and 101.7 used to be good stations, but today it is just bland radio. WMUS used to be a great country station, today it is terrible. Thank clear channel radio for all the changes they could care less about Muskegon.

Here's why it was scaled back. The bypass would have eliminated the need for through traffic to pass through Holland and Grand Haven. The problem is that represents less than 20% of the traffic you have on US 31 right now. More than 80% of the traffic wants to get somewhere between Holland and Muskegon and would not think of traveling 10 miles out of their way to avoid GH and arrive at 96 in Nunica.

Gas stations don't want you to pay at the pump. They want you inside whre you will spend a dollar on a cup of pop. They make 50 cent profit on that soda pop.

Grand Haven has Admiral, a very competitive company. Wesco is forced to follow suit instead of setting the standard as they do in Muskegon.

Also, Muskegon stations deal with lots of driveaways. So they are more concerned with getting paid for the gas at the pump to avoid this crime. What the Muskegon stations will do is lower cig prices to bring people into the store.

The main goal is to get people in the store without sacrificing theft at the pump. Hard to do in ghetto areas.